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U.S. Dow stock index briefly tops 40,000 for 1st time

U.S. Dow stock index briefly tops 40,000 for 1st time

The Dow stock index briefly topped the 40,000 line for the first time ever on Thursday amid growing optimism about the solid U.S. economy as recent data suggested stubborn inflation may ease and the Federal Reserve could begin cutting key interest rates in the fall. But the buying lost steam after the 30-issue Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an intraday record at 40,051.05, also on the back of strong corporate earnings reports. File photo taken in August 2018 shows the Charging Bull, a statue that has stood since 1989 near the New York Stock Exchange as a symbol of the strong U.S. stock market. (Kyodo) The index finished at 39,869.38, down 38.62 points, or 0.1 percent, from the closing record of 39,908.00 marked Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index shed 44.07 points, or 0.26 percent, to 16,698.32. U.S. President Joe Biden described the index's surge above the 40,000 threshold as "another sign of confidence in America's economy." The consumer price index for April, released Wednesday, showed an increase of 3.4 percent compared to a year earlier, suggesting the first slowing of inflation in three months. Recent employment data also signaled normalization in the labor market, which has been regarded by many analysts as overheated. The change encourages investors to expect that the Fed could decide to cut borrowing costs in September from the current level, a 23-year high. Overall, the Dow index has been on an upward trend since it fell below 6,600 in March 2009 amid the financial crisis caused by the collapse of the U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. the year before. After suffering a steep fall in March 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, it bounced back to surpass 30,000 in November of that year after the country's central bank eased its monetary policy. The stock index did not show remarkable increases after the Fed began raising the federal funds rate in 2022 to fight inflation, but its recent gains reflect solid earnings at major U.S. corporations, including those involved in information technology and artificial intelligence.

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Smart glasses-using university entrance exam cheat referred to prosecutors

A teenager was referred to prosecutors on Thursday for allegedly using camera-equipped smart glasses to cheat on university entrance exams by taking photos of the questions and sharing them with outside observers. The 18-year-old, who sat exams for Tokyo's prestigious Waseda University in February, had allegedly asked multiple people via X to be "online tutors" for him in advance and gave several thousand yen per person in electronic payments for their assistance during the exams, according to police. Photo taken on May 16, 2024, at a police station in Tokyo shows a pair of camera-equipped smart glasses allegedly used by a teenager to cheat on entrance exams at Waseda University. (Kyodo) "I regret my misconduct, which was worse than cheating," the man, who ended up not being admitted, was quoted as saying by the police, explaining that he had written down his answers based on the responses he received. According to the university, those who provided the answers were unaware that the test questions were from actual entrance exams. The man, a student of a senior high school in Tokyo at the time of the alleged offense, is suspected of obstructing the private university's operations by taking images of exam papers and posting them on X with his smartphone on Feb. 16 during the entrance test for the School of Creative Science and Engineering. The smart glasses were able to send the images to his smartphone, which was hidden in a pocket of his pants, according to the police. Photo taken on May 15, 2024, shows a Waseda University campus in Tokyo. An 18-year-old man took photos of the private school's entrance examination questions and leaked them during an exam held in February, allegedly using smart glasses and a communications device, investigative sources said on May 15. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo The university contacted the police after an official noticed a small camera in the frame of his glasses when he showed up for another test for the institution's School of Commerce on Feb. 21. Waseda University said on its website on Thursday that it submitted a criminal complaint to the police out of concern that similar cheating could occur at other universities, in addition to the difficulties of getting to the bottom of the incident through an in-house investigation. "We will respond harshly and seek to maintain fair and equitable environments of entrance tests," it said. Related coverage: Man suspected of using smart glasses to cheat on univ. entrance exam

May 16, 2024 | KYODO NEWS

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